


Hiding

by hakaishin



Series: Kakavege fics [1]
Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: AU, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, M/M, Mistaken Identity, OOC, Planet Vegeta, Saiyan Culture, Slow Burn, Unrequited Crush, kakavege, long fic, mentions of abuse, saiyan royalty, vegeta-sei still exists
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-30
Updated: 2020-02-11
Packaged: 2020-11-07 22:16:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 5
Words: 18,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20824694
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hakaishin/pseuds/hakaishin
Summary: Extremely talented sixteen-year-old Kakarot wants to join the Saiyan Royal Army, but for that he has to leave his family and native village behind. Oh, and he also has to hide who he really is.





	1. CHAPTER ONE

**Author's Note:**

> Planet Vegeta AU! English is not my first language so I apologize in advance for my terrible grammar. Also, I know exactly were this is going but I'm not sure exactly when it will be updated. I hope you'll enjoy it, don't hesitate to leave comments and tell me what you think about it. Enjoy!

**CHAPTER ONE**

“Ya sure about this, Kakarot?“, Bardock said worriedly, looking at his youngest. “If ya get caught ya could be killed, ya know that, right?“

“Yes, dad, I know. We've talked about that lotsa times.” He sighed, picking up the bag containing most of his belongings. “Ya know it's my dream to become a soldier and if this is the only way for it to come true then...”

His sixteen-year-old son leaving for _Bejite'nai__, _also called The Capital by the Saiyans of the countryside_,_ to join the military really wasn't a good idea. When Kakarot had begun to talk about enrolling in the royal army like his brother had before him, him and his wife Gine had done everything to try and convince him not to. The most evident reason for their refusal was that Kakarot was legally prohibited from joining. He had still insisted and had travelled to The Capital to take the tests. And God knows how he had succeeded. When the acceptance letter had arrived, Bardock had been in shock, not understanding how his son had managed to trick the highest ranked generals of the Saiyan Royal Army into accepting him.

“Is it really worth _dying_, though?”. Gine said, taking him into her arms. He was already two feet taller than her. He had grown up so fast in the last few of months that he had become sort of gangly. His body parts didn't seem to belong together anymore and he was only recognizable at his childish face perched on top of a never-ending lean neck. She knew that the next time they would see him he would be all muscles, just like his older brother.

“Ya're both overreacting. No one is going to find out. Well, as long as dad keeps sending me those pills, obviously.” Kakarot said confidently, smiling at his father. He let go of his mother and opened the front door.

“Promise me ya'll be safe, Kaka”. Gine felt her heart break at the sight of her youngest ready to leave the family to go live a life on his own. “I promise, mom. Plus, Rad' will be there to show me around, teach me how things works. It'll be great don't worry”

“Of course, I worry! Yer gonna spend all yer time with men that'll want to hurt ya as soon as they discover who ya really are.”

“A soldier is who I really am, mom. The rest is just a mistake of nature. It shouldn't matter to ya or anyone.” Kakarot was tired of always having the same conversation with his parents. He knew they were worried because they cared about him but he wanted them to respect his choice. He was not a cub anymore and he was able to take his own decision. “I should really get going, Rad's waiting for me halfway.

“Take care. I'll see ya next year”. Kakarot put two fingers against his temple, in a military salute, before taking off and flying away. 

As soon as he was out of sight Gine bursted into tears falling into the arms of her husband. “I really don't want anything to happen to him Bard. He is way too young to realize what danger he is putting himself into.”

“I know... But it was his choice. We can't keep him locked up in here forever, impeding him to do what he likes just because of some stupid laws that were created ages ago. We have to let him go, even if it means he might be in trouble someday. We help him as much as we can and see what happens.”

Bardock knew that he was somehow responsible for his son's departure. He was the one who created the suppressants in the first place. He hadn't meant for Kakarot to use them, it had just been one of his many experiments, meant to stay in his lab forever hidden between the dozens of other creations laying around the small shed. But he had been stupid enough to talk about them with Kakarot and even though Bardock had refused to let his youngest use them, the busybody that was Kakarot had stolen them and kept them without him ever noticing. Before receiving that acceptance letter that is. He really should have hidden them better, not have let them lying around in plain sight on his laboratory bench. Now was too late to think about what he should or shouldn't have done, wasn't it? Now, he just needed to produce as many of them as possible to prevent his son, or _sons_ if people learnt that Raditz was somehow aware of his little brother's gender, from being killed.

°°°

As Kakarot flew towards Bejite'nai, he felt free for the first time in his life. He would finally be able to be who he really was, a warrior, as capable if not more so than any other Saiyan to defend his planet. He always had enjoyed fighting. When he was still a little cub, he'd spend hours watching his father and brother's spars. He would always cheer for them and try to reproduce some of their techniques. Sensing his interests for fighting, Raditz had started training him when he had begun to get stronger. Every time he would come back home from the Capital on a leave, he would teach him the new techniques he had learnt, explain to him some the strategies they used and tell him amazing stories about the missions he went on. He had been a role-model for him during his entire childhood, and little Kakarot knew he would be like him when he would grow older. One day though, while he was rambling about joining Raditz in the Saiyan Royal Army, around the age of ten, his mother told him they needed to have a talk. Gine had made him sit next to her and had taken his hands in hers before explaining to him that unfortunately he could never be like his older brother. Kakarot had been confused about it, arguing that he was pretty strong for his age and that he was sure that he could still get a lot stronger, even stronger than Raditz.

“It is not a question of strength, Kaka. It's just that ya're not like yer brother and father.“ She had looked very pained by what she was telling him but he was still very confused, not understanding what she meant by this. Of course he was not like them, he was younger but he knew he'd grow up eventually. He told her that, but it only seemed to have frustrated her even more. “Ya're not an alpha, Kaka. Ya're a beta.” Back then, he hadn't really known what it implicated to be, or in his case not to be, an alpha. He had heard that word before without giving it much thought and he knew his mother was different than his brother and father. She looked different, smaller, thiner, more fragile and she didn't like the same things as they did. But Kakarot was not like her. In fact, he looked very similar to his father, lots of people told him that ever single time they saw him. So why was his mother telling him he was like her and not like the other male members of their family? She must have noticed him checking out her body and the frown that appeared on his forehead before his eyes went wide because she told him: “Not like me, Kaka. Ya're not gonna turn into a girl, I promise. It's just that there is more to one's gender than the fact that they are male or female. I know it might be hard for ya to understand this, because ya're still very young but there is actually a sort of hybrid gender, which is fairly rare, that we call male betas. They look exactly like alphas, they are physically indistinguishable and can only be recognized by scent once they reached puberty. The only difference is that they can carry children, just like I carried ya and yer brother. D'ya understand?‘‘

“I guess.” He had answered. “I just don't see why I can't be a solider like Rad. I don't care about having babies, I don't like them.” He pouted.

“It's just that alphas, well, hum... they might be disturbed by the betas' scent at certain times and they can't really concentrate anymore. It is dangerous to have soldiers that are not focussed on what they're doing, so they prohibited the betas from joining the army.“

“But that's so unfair! I wanna be in the army, mom, it's my dream, I can't do anything else. I don't want to stay at home and do nothing like ya!” And then he had stormed out of the living room, leaving his dumbfounded mother alone and locked himself inside his bedroom to cry.

That had been one of the hardest moment in his entire life, understanding that because of the way he was born his dream could never come true. But there he was, flying towards the Capital, joining his brother, embracing his dream. He was grateful for his father's brilliance and the fact that he had created pills able to suppress heat cycles, but also for the fact that he was born in a small remote village were birth certificate were still not computerized so he'd been able to mess his up pretty easily. He thought that fate really wanted him to enlist in the army.

He spotted Raditz waiting for him near small river, dosing off on the grass. He landed right next to him and woke him up by yelling right in his left ear. His older brother woke up with a start, taking a fighting stance, ready to attack his mysterious attacker. Kakarot laughed. “Relax Rad, it's just me”

“Ya scared the shit outta me, Kaka.” Raditz laughed. “Well, ya shouldn't have fallen asleep then, ya big idiot!” Kakarot said before punching in brother in the arm affectionally.

“Ya were takin too much time, I got bored and figured a could just take a little nap while waiting for yer ass”

“Yeah, sorry 'bout that. Mom and dad didn't wanna let me go, they're scared I'll be killed by yer horrible comrades.”

“Well, they're not wrong, Kaka. Ya know this could turn out really badly, even with the pills and me covering up for ya.”

“I know but I still wanna risk it. I'd rather die doing this than spending all my life doing chores and getting fucked in the ass by a husband that would beat me up for not having washed his armor correctly”

“I guess that's fair.” The older brother shrugged. “Well, let's go, I don't wanna miss dinner.”

°°°

When Bejite'nai came into view, Kakarot was left in shock again. It was the second time he flew over there, but the metropolis still was as impressive as the first time he'd seen it. The center of it was obviously the Royal Palace, located on a high hill, overlooking millions of habitations expanding over thousands and thousands of miles. As the flew closer to the palace, the sounds and smells became more prominent and everything seemed alien and exotic to Kakarot. Even the people looked different, they seemed happier, livelier. Millions of things were happening at the same time: these two guys fighting in a dark alley, that young lady selling her body on the sidewalk, a group of children slaloming between the people of a crowded street. Kakarot smiled genuinely. He was really happy to be here, to tell himself that he now belonged to the people of the capital that he wasn't an uneducated peasant anymore.

“Ya like it?” Raditz asked him, pleased to see his grouchy brother so happy. “'Course I do. It's great”. Kakarot answered as they were heading towards the _liu'ana ammara_, the name given to the hill on which the Royal Palace as well as the military academy had been build, meaning in the ancient elite language “the head of the Gods”. They landed right in front of an imposing, finely decorated, gold-encrusted building that Kakarot recognized as the Royal Military Academy, the biggest military base on Planet Vegeta, that accommodates most of the Elites factions factions, as well as the most efficient second and third classes' ones. It also happened to be the place Kakarot was going to be formed in. It made him proud because only the recruit with the most potential were given that chance and they were rarely any hid class warrior. Raditz for example, had been trained in less prestigious base, located in another part of the Capital, known for being a place of debauchery where, according to the myth, there were as many whorehouses as there were of soldiers.

The guard at the front door acknowledge Raditz and let them both in. Raditz obviously knew his way around the enormous compound and led them directly to the dorms so that Kakarot could leave his belongings before they want to eat dinner.

“Ya should thank me. I manage to bribe the administration into letting ya join our team's dorm. They would have had ya share one with the new recruits on the other side of the compound but I explained there was a place available in ours since Basco's death. So now ya're actually closer to everything and will be sharing a room with pleasant company such as mine.”

Kakarot nodded as a way of thanking his brother. They entered the empty dorm and the younger Saiyan noticed it was very small, pretty basic, with minimum furniture : just three bunkbeds aligned next to one another and a cupboard in front of each. It was not what he had imagined. From the exterior, the building seemed very fancy so he'd expected the chambers to be as well, but he didn't really mind. As long as he got to fight, eat and sleep, he would be happy.

“So, ya can leave yer things in the second drawer of my cupboard, and ya'll sleep in the top bunk over there, above Ternut.” He indicated, pointing at the beds. “That guy is crude and vulgar but he's nice and he doesn't snore, which is a big plus when considering roommates.”

“Does any of them snore?” Kakarot asked, thinking that sleeping might be a bit of a problem if it was the case. “Aru snores like a fucking freight train, but ya'll get used to it.” Kakarot grimaced. “Let's go get dinner, I'll introduce them to ya”

They walked again through the maze of corridors, that were all empty considering it was dinnertime. As they approached the mess hall, the hubbub became louder and louder, and Kakarot was starting to get a bit stressed, realization finally sinking in that he was going to live with hundreds of alphas ready to hurt him if they discovered that he wasn't in fact one of them. For the first time since he got accepted, he felt self-conscious and hoped that nothing in his attitude would give him away.

Raditz put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “It's gonna be okay, Kaka, don't worry.” he said as they finally entered the hall. It was immense, rows and rows of soldiers, wearing their armors, chatting obnoxiously with each and eating in a very messy, Saiyan-like way.

Raditz spotted his friends and waved at them, before joining the line to get some food. Kakarot stand behind him the whole time in silence, lost in his thoughts. When he raised his head again a few minutes later he was surprise to see a petite brunette woman smiling at him. “You're new, right? I've never seen you before!” She said. He was too shocked to see a beta here, when they were said to make alphas loose their minds. Raditz answered for him. “Yup, he's my baby brother, Kakarot”. She smiled at him again, he felt very uncomfortable. “Nice to meet you, Kakarot. I'm Taya. So, what would it be?”.

“Sorry what?” He asked confused. “What would you like eat?” She said showing all the possible choices with her hands. _Oh._ “Just give him the same things as me, Taya.” Raditz said and she nodded before handing him four plates containing different dishes. “I'll see you around, Kakarot!”, she told him before greeting the soldiers behind them. They chose their deserts and when to sit next to Raditz's friends, that Kakarot suspected to also be heir roommates.

“Hey there, so you're the brat Raditz's been talking about non-stop” a hoarse voice with an unpleasant accent said. Kakarot looked at the man. His looks were as unappealing as his voice. He was extremely big and bulky, he seemed to have shaved his dark mane into an ugly mohawk and had a scar on his right eye that surprisingly made him look ridiculous and not scary at all. When he smiled at him, Kakarot also noticed that the man lacked a few teeth. “I'm Aru, team captain”. He extended a hand for Kakarot to take, which he did. “Nice to meet ya. Y'all actually”. Kakarot smiled at them, getting into his act of overconfident alpha male. They all started to talk again about trivial things that Kakarot didn't really understand, but he actually wasn't paying attention to them.

It allowed him to have proper look at his new comrades. To be honest, they all seemed kind of stupid. They were all of the bulky type and appeared to be fervent users of brute force and not so much of strategy in a fight. Kakarot thought he could easily beat any of these guys if he wanted to. One of them was staring at him, Nesco, if he remembered correctly, frowning, as if something with Kakarot was bothering him. The younger of the lot raised an eyebrow, it was time for him to enter his role.

“Do I have something on my face, or what?” Kakarot growled at the other male. “Stop looking at me like I was a stupid beta bitch ya'd fuck on a sidewalk!”

All the men around the table fell into silence. Raditz was looking at his brother with wide eyes . He'd never heard Kakarot speaking badly about betas before. Sure, he wasn't happy with his condition and Raditz knew he would have preferred to have been born an alpha, but it didn't mean he hated other betas. Kakarot actually was really close to their mother and he adored her. Oh, she would be pleased to hear her youngest talk that way.

“Relax man, I was just thinking about how you absolutely don't look like Rad. No funny business here” Nesco said raising both hands in a gesture of peace.

Kakarot nodded and continued eating his second serving as if nothing had happened. “So, how come you're here and not at _Innyema_?” Ternut asked in an attempt to lighten the mood. “That's where third class are usually assigned in the beginning”

“Guess I did very well at the entrance examination. They thought I was strong enough to train with the Elite” Kakarot answered shrugging.

“You must be real strong then!” Another of Raditz' teammates said.

“Well of course he's strong, I trained him” Raditz said grinning and poking his arm. “Shut up, Rad. Ya know I'm stronger than ya. I kick yer ass every time we spar. Ya're so slow I'm sure even a beta could beat ya!”. The four other laughed and Kakarot rolled his eyes inwardly. These men were so dumb it would be child's play to convince them he was one of them. Raditz didn't seem happy with his little act, but well, who cared? Kakarot certainly didn't, his brother could keep glaring at him all he wanted, he wouldn't allow anyone here to see any weakness in him.

°°°

After dinner, Raditz insisted on showing the communal bathrooms. Kakarot knew it was just a way to trick him into having he conversation he didn't want to have. They walked in silence in the deserted hallways, Raditz occasionally looking into his direction, waiting for his younger brother to say anything and Kakarot doing his best to ignore the taller Saiyan's glares. As soon as the locked the door behind them, Raditz pushed him against the door.

“What the fuck was that, Kakarot?!”

“I don't know what ya're talking about.” The younger said, looking everywhere except in the direction of his older brother. “Don't play dumb with me, Kaka. I know ya and ya're not an asshole!”

“Who cares, Rad?! I'm not here to be me, I'm here to be the complete opposite of myself! And if I have to be a dick for people not to know who I really am, I'll do it!”

“Why though? Because ya're nice does mean they'll know ya a b...” Kakarot covered his mouth. “Are ya crazy?! Don't ever say that word again!” Kakarot whispered before lowering his hand. “Just leave me alone, Rad. Let me do my thing, ok?”

The taller of the two sighed. His little brother was too stubborn to change his mind anyway. “Just be careful, Kaka.”

“I will, don't worry.” He stopped for a few seconds. “Hey, Rad, why's there a female beta working in the kitchens? I thought no beta could join the military or even be near soldiers.”

“Ya talking about Taya? She's not technically part of the military but she was allowed to work here because she's infertile. Didn't ya notice her smell is very neutral?”

“No, all I could smell was food and the stench of y'all nasty alphas” He giggled. “She seems nice though, friendliest person I've met so far”

“She is nice, but ya don't wanna get on her nerves, trust me” He laughed before opening one of the stalls.

When the two brothers got back to their dorm, the four other men were already asleep and snoring.

“I thought ya said only one of them snored!” Kakarot whispered as they entered the room. “I didn't say that, I said that Aru snored very loudly, not that the two other didn't.” He answered amused lying down on his bed.

Kakarot approached the cupboard, searching trough it for his drug vial, that he had hidden in a pair of socks. When he found them, he put two pills into his hands and looked over his shoulder to see if nobody was looking before bringing them to his mouth and swallowing them. He squinted as they came down his throat, feeling angry that he had to go trough all this when he was ten times stronger than the men sleeping behind him. He put them away again before climbing in his bunk bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 09/30/2019


	2. CHAPTER TWO

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kakarot has an awful day.

**CHAPTER TWO**

That night, Kakarot had trouble falling asleep. His roommates were snoring more loudly with each passing minute, making Kakarot angrier and angrier and thus adding to his restlessness. Moreover, the pills made him dizzy. Even lying down, he felt as if the world around him was spinning and he had the feeling he would throw up at any minute. This also had happened to him when he had passed his entrance examination. He had been fine for the entire duration of the test, the adrenaline and excitement keeping him from feeling any other thing. However, as soon as he had gotten out of the building, he had thrown up his guts all over the Academy's fence. Bardock had warn him about the side effects of the pills, had told him they were just a prototype and not meant to actually been used for the moment. But if it was the price to pay to be able to realize his dream, then he could put up with it.

Kakarot ended up passing out of exhaustion a couple of hours before waking up to the bugle. He groaned as he heard the unnerving sound. His head was pounding and he was even more tired than before going to sleep. The fact that his roommates seemed to be refreshed from their sleep after having kept him up all night enraged him. He was glad he wouldn't have to spend the day with them or he was afraid he would slice their throat. The young Saiyan groaned before sliding out of his bed.

“Hey there, little brother. Slept well?” Raditz asked, smiling at him. “Fuck off.” Kakarot answered before taking his underwear, green spandex and armor and leaving for the bathroom without another word. He was not a morning person under normal circumstances, but he was even grumpier when sleep-depraved. To add to his grouchiness, he had to wait in a queue, behind a dozen of other men, talking way to loudly for his liking, to be able to take a _fucking_ shower. He looked at the clock on the wall behind him. _Great_, he wouldn't even have time for breakfast because of these fools.

Kakarot took a shower, a _cold_ shower - as if it would be too complicated or too expensive to get hot water in there - as fast as he could before running towards the main courtyard where he knew he was supposed to meet with the other new recruits. Obviously, as his brother was nowhere to be found, he got lost in the maze of corridors that composed the Academy and ended getting late. He tried to find his place in the ranks as discreetly as possible while the others were occupied listening to a speech by Commander-in-chief Espina, in charge of the newbies. As he looked around, he noticed he was the only one wearing green, all the others wearing either red or blue, the colors of respectively the second class and the Elite. He knew it was extremely rare for a third class warrior to join the Royal Academy, but still, he hadn't expected to be the only one.

“...yesterday. Your formal training will begin this afternoon and will last four months, as you already know. At the end of your training, you will be assigned a team according to your skills and power levels. Today's session will be supervised by General Broly, General of the Saiyan Royal Army and advisor to the King, as well as by Lieutenant Nappa, in charge of the Royal security team. They'll be here to observe you and see your potential, so take advantage of it to show them what you're capable of.”

Kakarot really looked forward meeting General Broly. He had always admire him for what he represented. Broly was the strongest third class that ever existed. When he was born, his power level was almost as high as that of the great majority of the Elite generals. He had joined the Army when he was just fourteen and had very rapidly been promoted lieutenant, a first for a third class warrior. The King had taken great interest in him and had trained him himself, turning him into one of the mightiest Saiyan ever. He had been a role-model for Kakarot during his entire childhood, and he still wanted to be like him, that's why he would show him all he got that afternoon.

“Before that, you'll be greeted formally and be officially made soldiers of the Saiyan Royal Army by his majesty Prince Vegeta, Prince of all Saiyans”. As he said that, Espina went down on one knee and lowered his head, as did all other soldiers. Kakarot looked around him, as he had never met one of the Royals before, and didn't know the protocol for that particular situation, he thus settled on imitating his comrades.

_Kinja-toa_ _iu'ana gulis_, God bless the royal family, the Anthem of Planet Vegeta, started playing and all the soldiers began singing, but Kakarot couldn't. Being a country-raised third class Saiyan meant that he did not speak _Niaama_, the language of the Elite, and he thus couldn't understand the lyrics and even less sing them. He kept his head low, hoping no one would notice as they were all too focused on their singing. When the music stopped, they all got up and put their hand agaisnt their heart, as did the third class Saiyan. In front of them stand the Prince. And boy, did he look heavenly. He was wearing, above his Royal white spandex, a Saiyan armor, made out of gold and tungsten, over which he had a long and thick ermine cape with golden threads. He had a beautiful tiara made out of all the rarest gemstones of the galaxy up his his spiky auburn hair. Kakarot was stunned. He had seen pictures of the Saiyan Prince, but none of them did justice to the beauty of the heir to their throne of Planet Vegeta.

“I, Vegeta, Prince of all Saiyans, welcome you. I'm glad to see so many of you here today, ready to give your lives to defend our beautiful Planet. It isn't always easy to be a soldier of the Saiyan Royal Army. You sometimes will be off-planet for months, even years, without having any news of your family members. You will loose some of your comrades, your friends, your brothers in arms at the hands of our enemies. You won't live an easy life of leisure and security. But at the end of the day, it will be worth it, because nothing is as rewarding as knowing that your actions were able to prevent cubs and betas from dying, your King from being hurt, your planet from being exploited and its inhabitants from being put into slavery. Even through hard times, you'll have to remember this, that you need to survive because what you do is not only for yourself, but it is also for the sake of the entire Saiyan Race, and knowing this will push you to be better, to be stronger, to go beyond your limits. And at that moment you'll be proud of yourself and you'll know you made the right choice by joining our ranks today”.

As he heard those words, Kakarot was even more convinced that everything he had done, everything he'll go through in the future, was worth it, everything would be worth it when he would experience these feelings the Prince had mentioned, the feeling of accomplishment, of having broken through your ceiling, to have defended what is important to you. He'd give up everything he'd ever had to be able to feel it if only once in his life.

“It is with great honor that I will make you all one by one, members of the Saiyan Royal Army.” The Prince climb down of the improvised stage that had been placed into the courtyard for the occasion. He went through the ranks of Saiyan in training soldiers, putting a decoration on their armor, shaking their hands and exchanging a few words with them. As he arrived at Kakarot's level, he ran his eyes up and down and frowned before addressing Commander Espina.

“What's this third class scum doing here? Why isn't he at _Innyema _with the others of his species?” He spoke with disdain and bile started rising in Kakarot stomach.

“Well...” Espina said. “He passed the entrance examination here, and actually did better than any other soldier. Hum... we haven't seen someone with his power level in a very long time your Highness. With the other members of the jury we decided that it would be better to assign him to the Academy rather than to Innyema for him to receive a training worthy of his talents...”

Vegeta scoffed. “Well... I don't care what you thought was good, he's still a third class and has no place in here. Just take this, I'm not touching him, who knows what diseases these people have.” He put Kakarot decoration in the hand of the commander and left to greet warmly the next soldier. Kakarot lowered his head, obviously pained by the Prince's comment. Espina put a reassuring hand on his shoulder and smiled at him before putting the medal on his armor and whispering into his ear:

“Prove him wrong. Show them all that you're better than any of them, that you deserve to be here as much as they do, if not more.” He shook his hand before moving on to catch up with the Prince.

This interaction with Commander Espina made him feel better. He could do it, he would be better than any of them, even if he had to work twice as much as they did to show he was strong and meritorious. He would make himself indispensable, so vital that they couldn't get rid of him, show that that he was the new Broly.

°°°

Kakarot was bored out his mind. They hadn't anything remotely close to being interesting in all morning. It just been tedious talk after tedious talk from officials he never heard of, repeating them they had made the right choice in joining the military and presenting them their training program. After the first hour, his thoughts had started wandering out, thinking about all kinds of things except what was described by the representatives of the Saiyan Army. He thought he had never felt as relieved as when he heard it was finally lunchtime before soon being disillusioned when he heard they wouldn't be eating with the other teams, but would actually eat all together to have some sort of “bonding time”. He was one of the first to enter the empty hall and headed towards the queue to wait for his food. As he reached the main course section, he was greeted by Taya's radiant smile.

“Hey, Kakarot! So, how is your first day so far?” She asked him while handing him his serving. “Fine, I guess. I hope this afternoon will be more interesting though. I'm tired of all these boring speeches. I don't know what most of these jackasses said.” She laughed at his grouchiness while he grabbed his desserts.

“I don't either most of the times. I just pretend I'm listening and it's enough for them to believe I'm interested in their nonsense. Works just fine, no one ever noticed so far”. Kakarot giggled and smiled at her. “See ya around, Taya!” He waved at her and went to find a table.

As he had expected, nobody came to sit next to him. He observed them and he noticed that they only remained within their classes: red with red and blue with blue. Since he was the only person wearing green in the entire room, the math wasn't difficult to do: he'll just remain alone for the rest of his training period. Kakarot could deal with that. It actually suited him, at least they wouldn't ask him questions and his cover wouldn't risk being blown. Moreover, he didn't really have any friends back home either, so it wouldn't change anything for him. The only things he did were train and help his mother around the house while his father was working in his lab. Now, he would just train, train and train again, working on getting stronger to prove these jerks that class and gender actually didn't mean anything at all as regards to power.

°°°

He could see Broly and Nappa whispering to one another as Espina presented what they would do this afternoon. Kakarot was really pleased with the activity: one-on-one sparring matches, no ki-techniques allowed. It was his opportunity to prove his worth as a warrior, he could show his techniques as well as his sense of strategy in these fights. They all got to fight at the same time but on different arenas, changing adversary every five minutes.

Kakarot started facing mostly second class soldiers, reluctant to fight against him seeing him as the bad apple of the lot. They couldn't be more wrong. Kakarot ended up crushing every single one of them in mere seconds, knocking them out on with a single blow. As the other soldiers started to notice that he was actually stronger than what they had thought, more and more Elite warriors presented themselves in front of Kakarot, trying to prove their worth to their comrades, without success. The beta kept beating them, without any of them being able to land a single punch. Another warrior had stood out from these matches: an Elite warrior, part of family close to the Saiyan Crown called Leek. He was short and lithe and had a confident grin constantly plastered on his juvenile face. He couldn't be much older than Kakarot, 18 at most, but he seemed to have a lot of fighting experience. As he presented himself in front of Kakarot, all the other matches stopped and the soldiers formed a circle around the two warriors.

The two Saiyans started throwing punches slowly at first, gauging the strength of the other, calculating how their opponent was going to react to what blow. Leek was the one to lend the first punch, taking Kakarot, that was still adjusting to the other, by surprised and hitting him square in the jaw, bruising it. His smug grin grew even wider on his face. Kakarot hissed, that _bastard_ was strong. Soon after, the youngest of the two decided he was down fooling around, but so did Leek. They kept fighting on the same ground for a few minutes, hitting and getting hit, dodging the strongest blows and following up with one of their own. Though, Leek was very strong and appeared to have no weakness, Kakarot noticed something about the other fighter's stance: Leek was not focussing enough on his foot game, too busy planning his next moves. Kakarot smirked, _he had him_. He distracted Leek by landing rights and lefts, punching him in the stomach and right after on the nose, probably breaking it if the haemorrhage it provoked was any indication. While the shorter man was briefly distracted by the acute pain, Kakarot tackled him. With a thump, Leek landed on his back, right on the ground of the training room, struck by the force of the blow. Kakarot put his booted foot on top of Leek's rising chest.

“Surrender.” He said, with a deep voice he didn't recognize. Leek spitted out some blood but was still grinning at him, refusing to admit his defeat. As he tried to get back up, Kakarot applied more pressure on his abdomen. The smaller man groaned and squinted, obviously in pain. “I said surrender.” He repeated coldly as continued to crush the other man under his boot.

“Alright, alright. You win.” Leek said, raising his hands in defeat. Kakarot withdrew his foot from the petite Saiyan's torso and held out a hand for him. Leek took it and got to his feet, standing in front of Kakarot. “Good match... Hum, I don't actually know you name.”

“Kakarot” The youngest of the two answered. “Well, nice to meet you, Kakarot.” Leek said his grin back on his face, still holding Kakarot's hand. The taller of the two nodded, before letting go of his hand and going for his water bottle.

He had expected Broly or Nappa to come see him after his performance. He indeed had made clear that he was the strongest of the lot. Bu that was not what happened at all. They didn't even acknowledge his presence, preferring to talk to _fucking_ _weaklings_, congratulating them for their ridiculous, shameful performance. Kakarot was fuming, clenching his fists and trying to keep his self-control not to go and pick up a fight with them. Even if he was the best, his fucking brith class was still a problem. He knew for sure that had he been member of the Elites they would have come and licked his ass; but merit did have any place in this fucked up cast system, even for a legend like Broly, that apparently had forgotten where came from by getting used of farting through silk in that golden palace. As soon as they were dismissed for dinner, he stormed out of the building and headed for the dorms, he was way too angry to eat right now and needed to relax before he hurt someone that didn't have anything to do with this.

As he entered the room, Raditz was there talking with Nesco. “Hey, Kaka! So how was yer first day? D'ya make any friends?” The older brother ask excited for his brother.

“Fucking great! First that fucking bastard princeling refusing to give be my decoration because of my class and the _diseases_ I could be carrying. And then scumbags Nappa and Broly ignoring me when I literally _crushed_ every single one of my opponents.” He punched into the wall, next to his bed, making a hole in it. And grunted before taking his head into his hands. “It just not fucking fair, Rad. I'm the strongest of them all, but I still am treated like trash because of who my parents are!”

Raditz went to take his infuriated little brother into his arms. He put the smaller Saiyan's head against his chest and started purring and rubbing his head to try and calm him down. “Shh... Calm down, Kaka...”.

Kakarot gripped his brother's t-shirt into his hands, trying not to cry out of anger as well as self-disgust. But he couldn't appear to be this weak when Nesco was still in the room, looking at their interaction with great interest. He let go of his brother, taking a deep breath to calm himself down. “Y'all have eaten already?” He asked, voice still trembling.

“We were about to go the mess hall. Wanna come?” Raditz asked smiling lightly. “No, but bring me something would ya?” The older brother nodded before leaving with his teammate.

Kakarot laid down on his bed. He reassured himself thinking he only had four more months of training before he will be on a team in which he could crush whoever told him he wasn't strong enough. But what if these assholes decided to put him in a low rank team, only with weaklings, doing patrols in the city center. There was no way he could spend his entire life doing this. He felt rage bubbling inside his chest once again. He hoped Commander Espina would have a say in this. The man had been the only person that had seemed to see his actual potential, disregarding completely his class. He would continue to train like a madman during the months he had left, proving, if only to said Commander, that he wouldn't be a disappointment and that he had been right to believe in him. And even if he ended doing grunt work with a bunch of wimps, he wouldn't have anything to be ashamed of because he would have given his all.

°°°

As he sat with his brother and the team in the mess hall the next morning, after a slightly less horrible night than the first one he had spent at the Academy, he felt someone sit beside him on the bench. Kakarot looked confused at Leek that was smiling at him while putting his trail on the table.

“Good morning?”, Kakarot asked, not quite sure why his adversary from the day before would choose to sit with them, when he could clearly see they were all part of the third class. His roommates all frowned at the Elite warrior that had just joined them. “Hey, how's it going?” He looked for the first time at the other men around the table. “I'm Leek, by the way. A friend of Kakarot”. It was Kakarot's turn to look at him, raising his eyebrows. Since when were they friends? They had fought just the day before and Kakarot had forced him to submit to him. How could this be considered a declaration of friendship?

“I'm Raditz, Kakarot's brother.” The long haired Saiyan answered, extending a hand towards the newcomer.

“Nice to meet you. Your brother is a really tough opponent. I made the mistake of underestimating him yesterday. This cost me three hours in a healing tank and I missed dinner.” He giggled before turning towards the youngest Saiyan at the table. “Kakarot, I actually wanted to ask you if you'd like to pair up with me for training sessions. It was made pretty obvious yesterday that none of the other weaklings could be a potentially good sparing partner. Honestly, they are so weak, it's like fighting against a fucking beta.” He as well as Raditz's teammates laughed at his joke. Raditz, that had thought for a tiny second that this man could be nice and actually become friends with Kakarot, a first in the young beta's life, just sighed looking at his younger brother with sad eyes.

“Yeah, I guess we could team up. It can't be bad to have a strong partner to train with. We could actually make some progress.” Kakarot said, accepting the small Saiyan's proposition.

“So, hum, Leek, ya're saying that little Kaka here is actually stronger than most Elites?” Ternut asked, surprised. “I know Rad said he was strong but he didn't know he meant this strong.”

“Yeah, I guess we were all surprised yesterday, when he started beating the shit out of everyone in the room. Not to be mean, but we were all wondering what a third class was doing training here and not at Innyema. After seeing him fight, though, there's absolutely no doubt why that man's here. He belongs here more than any other Elite warrior I've ever encountered.” He smiled at Kakarot. The young beta was actually quite touched by blue-clad warrior's words. It felt nice to be appreciated by a strong warrior, and even more to be recognized for what he was worth in this place where class seemed to prevail over merit. Moreover, his speech seemed to have also convinced his roommates of his power level, as if they had listened to his brother praising him the day before. Kakarot puffed his chest, feeling proud, a sentiment he wasn't used to to be honest. Kakarot had always been more of the self-loathing type, never satisfied with who he was and always pushing himself to be stronger to overcome the difficulties brought by his genes. 

Leek had stayed with them for the rest of breakfast, actually talking to him as well as the other third class warriors present at the table, asking them questions about their missions. He looked genuinely interested in hearing their answers and Kakarot thought that Leek was actually not that bad. Maybe he could have a friend. _That'd be nice_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 10/19/2019


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kakarot goes on a night out.

**CHAPTER THREE**

The first two weeks seemed to pass in blur for Kakarot that alternate between his intensive training, eating and sleeping. Training with Leek had actually proven to be a really good idea. The man was strong and their sparring sessions were incredible. Never before had Kakarot had a partner that had been so close to his power level, even as a kid as his brother and father wouldn't go all out on him, afraid they would hurt him if they did. Even though the beta was still stronger than the shorter Saiyan, the other man was able to dodge most of Kakarot's punches and counter attacked as soon as he saw an opening. Moreover, the man was actually nice, way nicer than he had appear on the first day they had met. It turned out, Leek wasn't actually arrogant – not too much at least – and was quite fun to be around. Kakarot had learnt that he was the son of one of the King General, that had trained him since he was three years old and thus, he knew most of the Elite warriors at the Academy. However, the man wasn't ashamed to be seen with a third class warrior and chose to spend all his lunches with him. Kakarot thought that for the first time in his life he could actually have a friend. The only problem with Leek was his apparent distaste for betas, always talking very crudely about them, but Kakarot could put up with that as he shared most of Leek's opinions on them, that they were weak and only good for breeding purposes. Kakarot hated other betas for not trying to prove they weren't, for wanting to stay as they were, controlled by alphas and used either as housewives or as whores. He was the living proof that they could be as strong as alphas, that they could do whatever they wanted to, they just didn't want to.

Raditz wasn't really happy with his recent friendship with the petite Saiyan. He had told him repeatedly that he didn't like him, that he had a wrong feeling about him, that it couldn't be good for him to be so close with someone that hated “his kind” - Kakarot really hated his brother when he used that term – this much. Kakarot had purposely chosen not to listen to his big brother on this one and to do whatever he wanted to.

All in-training soldiers were finally allowed a leave during the weekend of the second week. Most of them chose to go back home to their families. However, Kakarot hadn't wanted to. It was too soon for him to face his parents, he didn't wanna talk to them before knowing exactly what he would be doing in the army, proving them right – he wasn't made for this – or wrong – this was exactly what he was meant to do.

As they finished their training on Friday evening, Leek approached him while drying his sweaty face his a towel. “Hey, we're going out with a few friends tonight, you should come, it'll be fun.” Kakarot hesitated. He didn't know the other trainees very well and hadn't actually ever gone out in town like this. What were they supposed to do? Where would they go? Would he be able to enter seen as he wasn't an Elite like them?

“Hum, where to?” Kakarot asked still unsure about what he should do. “To _Kaparlska_” Leek blinked at him. What the hell were Elites going to do at Kaparlska? From what Kakarot knew, this part of the city was a little bit like Innyema. He had never been there himself but he knew this part of the capital was composed only by bars, nightclubs and brothels, all of them frequented mostly by third class Saiyans “You like it, I swear. If you wanna come, just join us at the front door after dinner, okay?” Leek patted his shoulder before leaving for the showers.

°°°

Kakarot had thought about it for the entirety of his shower and dinner. He had thought about asking Raditz what he should do. He very rapidly discarded the idea. He already knew what his brother would say: that it wasn't a good idea to go out with Elites, and especially Leek; he would also very probably make a huge deal out of the fact that the they would go to Kaparlska. The more he thought about it the more he told himself _why not? _What could possibly happen to him? He was strong and and he wouldn't be alone. Once he finished dinner, he was sure about his decision, he would go out and have fun for once. He excused himself for the table saying he wasn't feeling very well and that he was gonna go back to their room. Raditz proposed to accompany him back to the dorms to which he answered: “No don't worry, Rad, I'm just tired. I'll go lie down for a bit.”

He left the mess hall as soon as possible making a short trip to his dorm to take his pills before running out to meet with his partner and his friends. “There he is!” Leek said as Kakarot arrived at the font door. He was there with three other men, only one of which Kakarot knew the name. He then noticed that none of them had bothered putting on “normal” clothes and were all ready to leave wearing their training armors. “So, you decided to come after all” Leek smiled at him. “Yeah, I just wanna get off of training for a bit.”

“You're damn right! And what's best than a night out for that!” The other trainee Kakarot knew, Oka, said patting his shoulder. “Guess we're ready to go.” Leek said before taking off. They all followed him.

°°°

The capital was even more impressive at night. From the sky, Kaparlska was very bright and colorful. The large crowded streets were filled with huge neon billboards and tones of different tunes were playing, creating a hubbub when being mixed with the cheerful chatter of the customers. Colorful light beams where sent into the sky with gigantic projectors meant to appeal people into getting into this or that nightclub. Most people were talking on the street, sat around tables or standing in front counters outside of jam-packed bars. Kakarot was shocked, even though he didn't show it to his colleagues and tried to appear as laid back as possible.

The group landed in front of bar they all seem to know very well as the servers called them by their names as they entered. The bar was very crowded like the one he had seen was flying over. The music was very loud and people were dancing, too close to one another for their own sake. They sat around a table in a corner, some of the guys went directly towards the counter to get drinks.

“What do you drink, Kakarot?” Leek asked him, close to his ear, to be sure he would be heard above the deafening tune. Kakarot instantly thought he wanted a soda. He never got to drink any at home, seeing it was too expensive for his parents to buy. He had first tasted soda for his twelfth birthday when Raditz had bought a bottle for him from the capital. He had loved the sugary yet sour taste it had and had ask Raditz for a bottle every year for his birthday. However, he soon realized his friend had meant for him to take an alcoholic beverage. And Kakarot had never tasted alcohol before in his life. Once again, not to lose face and appear to be a totally boring beta look alike to Leek and his friends, he just answered:

“Whatever you take is fine”.

He shouldn't never have answer that. His training partner came back a few minutes later accompanied by his other friends and holding a bottle full of a green liquid Kakarot hadn't seen before. The only alcohol the young Saiyan knew was _morindis_ that his parents and brother used to drink for special occasions like birthdays or Royal National Day. It was produced by an old man of their village that gave them a bottle or two every time Bardock went to repair one of his machines. Kakarot had never actually tasted it, but he knew it smelt like disinfectant and didn't understand how the other members of his family could drink it without throwing up or straight out dying.

“There you go!” Leek poured Kakarot and himself a glass of that strange looking alcohol but handing the taller boy his drink. “Nyema!”. He said smiling before clinking their glasses. Kakarot brought the glass to his lips, the smell albeit not as strong as that of morindis was still very unpleasant and made his forehead ache. He took a sip out of it and almost gagged. He tried not to grimace as the disgusting beverage went down his throat, burning everything in its path. He looked at the others, that didn't seem bothered at all by the drink and looked like they actually were enjoying it, taking sip after sip while chatting animatedly with each other. Maybe he would get used to it, Kakarot thought before taking another sip. Nope, this drink was definitely awful and he really didn't understand why people did that to themselves, surely this couldn't be good for any of his organs.

Leek scouted towards Kakarot and poked him lightly in the ribs, for the beta to look in his direction. “You're awfully quiet tonight, what's wrong?”. He asked, looking genuinely concerned for his new friend. “Nothing, just tired from today's training, that's all”.

“Come on, Kaka. We're not here to sleep, we're here to have fun! Drink a bit, relax.” He said smiling and the other men turned to look at him. Well he was cornered. Kakarot forced himself to chug his drink under the cheering of his colleagues. As the night went one, and Kakarot kept knocking back drinks, he felt himself relax, just like Leek had said. Speaking about Leek, he had left the table for quite a long time now, going dancing with a young female beta that he apparently knew from somewhere, Kakarot hadn't really followed that story. He was just sitting here with Oka that ranted about some girl as well, he wasn't paying attention to that either.

“And you, you got a pretty beta back home too?” Another boy from their group, Azuki, asked him and Oka looked in his direction wiggling his eyebrows. Kakarot laughed, _if only they knew_, he thought and that made him giggle internally. Of course, he didn't tell them that, his brain was numbed but not to the point he would endanger himself by telling them the truth. “Na, there are only old farts where I come from. The only young beta there is a weakling beta boy, that does nothing but sit around all day.” That wasn't a lie per se. He lived in a very small town were only old boring people resided and he was the only youth that lived there, and if he hadn't left for the army he would probably have had to help his mother around the house or just laid around in their garden waiting for his father to finish his work so they could spar.

“Beta boys are so hot though.” Azuki groaned. “It's a pity there are so little of them. But then again, they are pretty useless, they don't make good housewives and they suck at fighting, they're only good for sex.” Oka nodded his head in agreement with his friend's statement. Kakarot tried to calm himself before he would lash out at the two alphas. He poured himself another drink, ignoring his growing headache.

“That's not a beta boy, but that girl over there seems pretty interested in our little Kakarot.” Oka said, looking in the direction of a young beta that was walking towards them eyes fixated on the younger Saiyan. She was objectively very pretty, with wavy auburn hair that went down to her delicate waist, covered by a satin dress that went down to here ankles. Her gait was very elegant, sign that she was part of the Elite and not some cheap whore of Innyema looking for a rich client. Kakarot was starting to sweat more and more profusely as she got closer and closer to where they were sitting. Even though he hated being a beta and had wished he had been born an alpha, he couldn't deny the fact that he was absolutely not attracted to women whatsoever. He couldn't turn her down in front of the other soldiers; he had no reason to: he had just told them he was single and didn't have the opportunity to interact with betas very often, and that girl was absolutely stunning, he couldn't tell them he didn't find her attractive.

“Hi, guys!” She said, only looking at Kakarot though. “Do you mind if I sit with you for a bit?” Azuki and Oka were looking at her with enamored gazes. “Of course!” The latter said, leaving room for her to sit between himself and Kakarot, that had entered into a state of panic. “What's your name?” She asked the younger of the lot, grinning at him with perfect white teeth. He must have taken too long to answer because Azuki talked before he did. “That's Kakarot. He's a bit shy, not used to be around betas as beautiful as you are”. He grinned dumbly. The female beta smiled and put his hand on his thigh. Kakarot froze. All the alcohol he had ingurgitated kept him from behaving naturally, bringing him back to his natural state of shyness. She giggled at his reaction. “You're really cute, Kakarot. I'm Ellery by the way.” _Say something, _Kakarot thought. “Hum, thanks.” He said, his voice hoarse. He cleared his throat. _You're a soldier, a confident alpha, you're not afraid a beta flirting with you. You can do this._ He decided he would play along as long as it stayed PG-13. “I mean... Nice to meet you”. He gave her one of his fake self-assured grins, he had kept using since he got to the Academy. _Alpha smile_, as he liked to call it in his mind.

“We'll leave you two to talk.” Oka and Azuki left him alone with this personal space invading beta that kept looking at him as if he was piece of meat. If they were alone it would be easier to turn her down when he'd start feeling very uncomfortable. “So, you're a royal soldier?” She asked trying to make small talk. “Soon. Still in training.” He answered proudly.

“It's weird to see a third classes hanging out with Elites like this.” She said, taking the green fabric of his spandex between her fingers. “Well, I'm the only third class trainee at the academy, so I don't have another choice than to hang out with Elites.”

She raised an eyebrow. “I thought third class' warriors couldn't go to the Academy?” Ellery asked, surprised. “Guess, I'm not a normal third class”. He smirked. And this was true, he was far from normal. “I guess not.” She bit her lips, her hands making its way towards his inner thigh. He was about to push her away when Leek came back to the table for a drink. He looked at her for a brief instant before smiling in her direction.

“Hey sis! I didn't you were there!”. She got up to hug him, giving her first real smile of the evening. “And I didn't know you were on a leave! You didn't text me since you started training.” She scolded him like a cub, pinching his cheek. Kakarot was in shock. Firts of all because he hadn't known Leek had a sister in the first place and then because that meant that turning her down was not an option anymore. If he told her he was not interested in betas, she would probably tell his brother and he would be screwed.

“I see you met my sister, Kakarot.” The aforementioned Saiyan nodded. “Take good care of her, she's a real gem.” He kissed her cheek and took his drink before leaving again. She came back next to him, even closer than she had been before.

Kakarot took another drink, that he emptied out right away. Maybe it would be easier if he was completely drunk, he couldn't at least say it was because of the alcohol and didn't know what he was doing. Ellery started talking to him about her life. She was actually older than Leek by three years. She was some sort of artist, if Kakarot had understood correctly, and was studying in the Royal School of Fine Arts. He had never heard of it before and she explained that he was a very prestigious and expensive school for the talented Elite youth. He had tried to look interested all throughout the conversation, picking up some of the information. She had started caressing his thigh again as she explained that she was living very close to their current location. If Kakarot had paid more attention and had drunk a little less he would have known where this was going. But he definitely got the message when she put her hand on his groin and whispered into his ear “Let's get out of here.”

She took his hand and helped him get up. That had been the first time since they got to the bar and he felt as if everything around him was spinning uncontrollably. He tightened his grip on Ellery's hand for balance, trying anything he could not to fall down. He didn't really notice as they started walking out of the bar, too focused on trying not to throw up his dinner on her probably-worth-more-than-his-entire-house dress. They entered was he suspected was her apartment but he didn't really looked at it. He was feeling awful and just wanted to lay down for a bit, see if his pounding headache would calm down. He felt nausea rising in his stomach and threw himself on the comfy bed. He closed his eyes for a minute, but the feeling got worse. As he opened his eyes again, he saw Ellery's face just a few centimeters above his. _Oh, oh_. He then noticed she was straddling him but was too out of it to say anything. Next thing he knew, she was kissing him fiercely and trying to take his amor off.

°°°  
  


As he woke up the next morning, his head was pounding and he felt as if an animal had died in his mouth. Despite these sensations, he was feeling very warm and comfortable as if he was laying on a cloud. He tried to open his eyes but groaned and closed them again as he was greeted by the aggressive sunlight coming from the bay window in front of him. _Wait what? A window? _There was no window in his dorm room. He tried to sit up in the bed but as he did he noticed he was completely naked.

“Fuck!_”_ He said, before he a heard the door opening.

“Knock, knock, sleepyhead. I've made you breakfast.” Ellery was standing before him, wearing a silky blue nightgown and holding a trail full of fresh food that she deposited on the nightstand next to the bed. She sat down newt to him and kissed his cheek.

“How are you feeling?” She asked him the sweetest voice possible offering him a muffin. “Like death. My head's gonna explode. And I don't even remember most of the shit I did last night.”

“Well, you didn't do much...” She giggled, mocking him, but for what? That he didn't know. “What d'ya mean?” He frowned bitting into the small cake.

“I mean that, you couldn't get it up. At all. I tried blowing you, nothing. And you ended up throwing up while I was jerking you off.” She grimaced as she probably relived the scene in her head. Kakarot started blushing profusely and started to hide his face in his hands. “Don't worry about it, you probably were too shitfaced to know what you were doing. I figured it would be better to let you sleep it off.”

“I'm sorry, don't know what happened to me last night. I don't usually drink that much.” Well that wasn't a lie, wasn't it? She didn't need to know he hadn't drunk a single drop of alcohol before the previous night. “What time is it, anyway? I have to be back at the Academy for breakfast.”

“Well, I guess it's too late for that. It's almost noon.” Kakarot got up abruptly, head spinning some more as he got to his feet. “Noon?! Are you kidding me? Rad's gonna fucking kill me!” He started looking around for the clothes he wore the previous night, but couldn't find any apart from his boxers that had seemingly been thrown away hastily in the corner of the bedroom.

“Have you seen my armor and spandex?” He asked Ellery. “I put your spandex in the washing machine, there was puke all over it, it should be dry in a couple of hours. And your armor must be somewhere around here. Look under the bed.” He squatted and grabbed his armor, that was indeed hiding under her bed. “I don't have a couple of hours, don't you have something else I can wear?”

“Let me check around around my closet, I must have one of Leek's old spandexes.” She did as she said and after a few minutes of searching through, she threw a royal blue spandex at him. “there, it should fit hopefully.”

“Thanks, Ellery. I'm sorry I have to leave so soon.” Kakarot said while dressing up at lightning speed. She brought him his boots while he was putting on his armor. “We'll see each other again, right?” She offered him a sweet smile.

“Of course.” He answere but hoped he wouldn't have to. She probably was a nice girl but he _really_ wasn't interested. He was about to leave when she grabbed his arm and pecked him on the lips. “Well your spandex and I would be waiting impatiently for your visit.” He blushed and went out the door.

°°°

Raditz was panicking. He hadn't been able to close one eye that night, worried and waiting for his little brother to appear. As they went back to the dorm after dinner, he had expected to find Kakarot already asleep in his bed, sleeping his pain away. He knew his pills made him kind of dizzy most of the time and gave him stomach cramps. However, when they entered, the top bed of the bunk was empty and as neatly made as it had been in the morning. Raditz wasn't too worried at that time, maybe his brother had just gone take another shower or went for a walk to get some fresh air. He got into bed, not giving it much thought. Nonetheless, when the minutes turned into hours he was starting to get very worried. What if his illness was more serious that he had thought and Kakarot was passed out somewhere in the Academy. What if someone had hurt him? If he was sick he was in no condition to fight whatsoever.

He got up and left the room to go look for his little brother, searching all around the academy, asking a few soldiers that were still up if they hadn't seen him. Nothing. He came back to his room, his stomach in knotted up with anguish and worry. He had waited all night, hoping to see him appear safe and sound through that door. But that never happened. The damn door had remained closed even as the soldiers started to wake up.

_Where the fuck are you Kakarot? _

Kakarot didn't show up for breakfast and Raditz was wondering if he should go talk to his brother's commander, tell him that he had disappeared. Raditz was sitting with his teammates in the mess hall, getting lunch and poking at his food, unable to eat as he was too nervous for anything to go down his throat without coming back out right away. Suddenly, he noticed a familiar hairstyle among the mass of soldiers present in the room, talking to a group of three other Saiyans, all four wearing blue. Raditz was mad, very mad_. What the fuck was Kakarot doing?_! Disappearing for an entire night and just waltzing in wearing clothes he absolutely wasn't allowed to wear and could get into deep shit for it.

°°°

Kakarot arrived at the Academy only a few minutes after leaving Ellery's apartment, having flown at full speed to get there before his brother got too mad. He had wanted to go directly to the dorms, to get change and join the other for lunch with a silly excuse for his absence. Obviously, things didn't go as planned. As soon as he had entered the building he was spotted by Leek, Oka and Azuki that were grinning at him.

“Hey there, had fun last night?” Oka asked, checking his clothes and Azuki giggled but didn't comment on it. Kakarot wanted nothing more than to roll his eyes dramatically at them. They really were like children at times. “My sister called me this morning, told me you spent the night with her.” Leek winked at him.

“Uh, yeah, I did” He scratch the back of his head nervously. The others were looking at him, waiting for Kakarot to tell them more about the previous night. “It was great, yeah, we hum...” He was very glad when Leek interrupted him before he had time to say anything. “I don't want details, she's still my sister, dude.”

“Yeah, sorry.” This definitely was some awkward situation. “You coming for lunch?” Azuki asked him. He nodded and followed them into the already crowded mess hall. He tried to hide as much as possible, fully aware he was not supposed to be wearing blue and could get in trouble because of it. They were waiting in the line to get their food when he saw his brothers coming towards them, seemingly very angry at him. “Kakarot!” The older brother yelled. Well, so good for being discreet. Raditz grabbed him by the collar of his spandex and guided him outside of the hall.

“What the hell d'ya think yer doing, Kaka? Fuck, I was worried all night about ya and ya just appear out of the blue wearing this?! What's going on?” He was pissed, facing reddening by the second, fury in his dark eyes. Kakarot would have laughed, had he not been the one causing such wrath.

“Hum.. That's quite a long story Rad...” He tried to avoid telling him, but knew deep inside this wouldn't work. “Well care developing a little bit.”

“I- I just went out with Leek and his friends last night, I didn't tell ya cause I didn't want ya to worry. We, hum, sort of went to Kaparlska and stuff.”

“Kaparlska? You slept there?”

“No, hum, that's also a funny story, ya see.” The look in his brother's eye spoke for itself. “So we were at this bar and drank a little bit, and hum, Leek's sister arrived and, well, I somehow ended up spending the night with her, I guess...”

“Seriously Kakarot?! A beta?! You had sex with her?!” Kakarot was feeling terrible, his brother was not only furious, we also seemed to be extremely disappointed in him, and that had never happened before. Raditz was always very supportive of him, helping him and telling him how proud of him he was. “No, Rad. I don't even remember anything after I got to her place. She told me nothing happened though.”

“Then why are you wearing Elite's clothes?”

“My spandex got dirty, she let me borrow this one. I planned to get changed but I didn't have time, the boys ambushed me as soon as I got here and I didn't have time to go back to the dorms. I'm sorry, Rad. I just wanted to have fun.”

“Did you?”

“Not really, the place was very loud and crowded, and alcohol tastes like shit, don't know how you do it.” Kakarot grimaced, making Raditz smile a little. He sometimes forgot how young his brother actually was with how mature he could be at times. Raditz remembered doing much worse things when he was his age. “Years of practice, baby brother. You'll get used to it.” Kakarot smiled, relieved his brother was not mad anymore.

“So that girl, did you like her? You think you like betas?” Raditz knew this was very uncommon and taboo but he had heard of betas or alphas being together before. This could actually serve his brother's story if it was the case. If he got together with a beta, no one would ever suspect him of being one himself.

“Definitely not. I was uncomfortable the whole time she was touching me and I couldn't manage to get it up even though she was sucking me off.” Kakarot laughed and Raditz tensed a bit. Well, Kakarot would have to hide yet another thing, pretend even more than it was the case now. It was fine for the time being, but as he would grow up, people would expect him to find a beta to mate with, or at least to fool around with. Raditz was himself unmated and knew how other soldiers were, expecting him to hook up with a beta every time they got to a bar or a club. This was going to be hard on his little brother.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 11/05/2019


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kakarot gets a new job.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, it took me so long to write this chapter and that it is not as long as the previous ones, but I have been very busy in these past few months.  
I still hope you'll enjoy reading this chapter. As always comments and recommendations are welcome, and I really appreciate reading them! Enjoy :)

**CHAPTER FOUR**

For the following weeks, Kakarot kept on focussing on his training and trying to finally be acknowledged for his talent by the army's generals. Despite all his efforts and the clear fact that he was better than any other recruit, he had remained unsuccessful. At times, he really got frustrated seeing Nappa or Broly – that often went to watch their training sessions, as if they didn't have anything better to do – congratulating the other apprentices without even looking at him.

That, added to the constant remarks by Leek and his friends about his pseudo-relationship with Ellery and their assumptions around night they had spend together (since she apparently talked about him to her brother all the time) was too much for the young Saiyan that was becoming very snappy and sometimes ended up throwing temper tantrums, punching and breaking everything around him.

Raditz had noticed his brother's moodiness and had tried to get him to talk about what was bothering him to the point of having him exploding in that way. However, Kakarot always ignored him or worse growled at him, showing clearly that he did not want to further be bothered. Their roommates also avoided talking to him, or having any kind of interaction with the young Saiyan for that matter, not wanting Kakarot's wrath to be directed at them. Rumors of Kakarot's impressive and rare power were spreading all around the Academy, mongered by the beta's fellow trainees. But because he belonged to the third class, the Elite generals only turned a blind eye to Kakarot's prowesses.

One day through, while Kakarot was training on his own, waiting for the afternoon session to begin, he noticed Nappa and Broly whispering to each other while looking in his direction. He had smirked inwardly, thinking that _fucking finally_ they were paying attention to him, and therefore he had tried to show off his best moves while subtly approaching them and trying to listen in to their conversion.

“...don't have much choice, Nap! Naka is the fifth guard to be killed by the King this year, we really don't have anyone else to appoint!”

_A guard killed by the King?_ Sure, it had happened before to some members of the Royal family's security crew or close members of the court for attempted treachery or some other fellony, but it had always been made public as to set an example. Why hide the death of this Naka? Or of the four other guards? 

“Do we have to take this third class rookie though?” The bald general whined. Were they considering taking Kakarot as a new guard? Would that be possible?

“Yes. You've heard Espina. He seems to trust him, and doesn't see anyone else capable of holding such a position. Besides you and I agreed that he was good.” Broly answered.

“But how do we know we can trust him?” Nappa asked. “The King used to trust the other guards as well, and look how it ended!” Broly was looking more and more annoyed by his fellow general. He sighed before answering: “We cannot know for sure. But a young soldier might be more inclined on controlling his _instincts_ than these old pervs.” The third class official made a face in disgust. “We ask him, we brief him and if the King approve than we will see what happens, okay?”

“What about his training then? He hasn't ended it yet.” Nappa pointed out.

“We both know he doesn't need it, Nap, and we can't wait much longer. Tarble needs someone to protect him and the King wants someone watch over him. That poor kid is messed up.” _Tarble?_ _Who the fuck is that? _Kakarot was disappointed. Make no mistake, he was happy about finally getting the recognition he deserved, and being part of the royal security staff was a great honor for any Saiyan; but still, guarding an unknown person wasn't what he had been expecting. He knew he wasn't the most educated Saiyan out there, but he had never heard the name Tarble before. What was this guy's connection to the royal family? Why would King Vegeta be concerned about him or who was guarding him?

The two generals' discussion faded into the background and Kakarot couldn't hear them anymore as progressively all future soldiers entered the training hall. Espina was in the last people to enter and motionned for them to sit down in front of him. Leek went to sit next to Kakarot, waiting for Espina's instructions, but kept glaring at him. “What d'ya want?” Kakarot asked.

“Nothing. You were just smiling like an idiot right now. I've never seen that look on you before. Did you get a _scoutage _from my sister?” He elbowed him in the ribs, playfully. Kakarot rolled his eyes. No, he hadn't, and he had no interest whatsoever in getting anything from her either. “No, I just heard a really good news, that's all”

“What news?” Leek asked at the same time as Nappa and Broly got up and went to talk to Espina. The general commotion prevented Kakarot from hearing what they were talking about even though he had a pretty good idea of what was being discussed. “Ya'll know soon enough.” Kakarot grinned again.

The three officers came forward to address the rookies. Espina cleared his throat, asking for silence, and started talking. “Hi, everyone. Before this session starts, General Nappa and General Broly will make a brief announcement, and they'll leave us right after, as they have important matters to attend to.” He made a sign with his chin for General Broly to start talking.

“Yes. King Vegeta has requested for a new bodyguard to join the royal security crew. After careful consideration, we decided to choose one of you to assume the position.” A loud gasp was heard in the room, everyone hoping for their name to be pronounced by the former third class soldier. Leek quickly put two and two together and mouthed a “seriously?!” at Kakarot, to which he only smirked proudly. Nappa continued talking. “The one we chose is third class trainee Kakarot. Please, stand up.”

Kakarot did as demanded, bowing to the two generals as he had become accustomed to in the past two months of training. “I'm very honored by your decision, General Broly, General Nappa. I promise not to disappoint you!” Kakarot said excitedly. This was even better than what he had hoped for since getting to the Academy. He simply had wanted to get noticed and just wanted to be valued for his talent and power, without his birth class interfering in his military career. But this was better than mere recognition. He knew this probably would be hard and wouldn't get to fight as much as if he had joined a defense team or went on conquering missions on alien planets like his brother did, but still he really was looking forward to this new mission. “Will you please follow us Kakarot? We would like to talk to you more about what your new position will imply.” Kakarot nodded following them out of the room silently.

°°°

Nappa and Broly had led him to a small room within the Royal Palace. The walk to this part of the complex was made in comfortable silence as Kakarot, that had never set foot inside the palae before, marveled at anything he saw. He had never seen that much luxury and wealth in one place. Every single wall, was covered in thick tapestries, depicting scenes of Saiyan history that the uneducated Saiyan couldn't recognize. These were probably a few centuries old and yet they still looked as beautiful as new. All the the door and window frames were covered in gold, and precious stones. All the rooms were fully furnished and elegantly decorated with alien objects exchanged with foreign planet's dignitaries, adding to the magnificence of the palace. As they walked throughout the wide corridors of the building, Kakarot wondered how big it actually was and how many rooms there were. He couldnt' stop himself from comparing it to his own humble house, located thousands of miles away, in a small village that maintained itself _iu'ana_ knew how. If he had grown up in the palace he certainly wouldn't have had to share a room with his snoring older brother as a kid, or wouldn't have had to hear to fights his parents got into at times, nor the making up that ensued.

He sat down opposite to the Nappa and Broly, that were towering him over him, trying to see if he was easily intimidated. “First things first.” Broly started. “Before we tell you anything about this mission of yours or the situation revolving around it, you'll have to sign some papers stating that one, you agree to serving your King and his family rightfully and that you are ready to give your life for them, and second that you won't talk to anyone about what you hear, see or uncover about the Royal family or their whereabouts.” Kakarot nodded frenetically. Of course he would agree to anything they asked him. “Great.”

Nappa took out a thick ream of paper. “Read everything carefully and sign at the end of each page, to mark your compliance to what his explained in it. If there's anything you do not agree with, then we will have to send you away and choose someone else for the job. Got it?” Kakarot nodded again. He started reading it but didn't' quite grasped what was said in the different paragraphs. It was written in Galactic Standard but they used tons of complicated words and lingo that Kakarot didn't understand or even recognized. After his third attempt at trying to understand the content of the first page out of around fifty of them, and not wanting to be sent away for being stupid, he settled on pretending to read them and signing every single page, without really knowing what he was actually agreeing to. It couldn't be that bad, _could it?_

After singing the final page, he turned towards Broly and Nappa that had started playing cards after the first half hour, bored out of their minds. “I think I'm done.” The two officers raised their gazes in his direction. “Did you sign everything?” Kakarot nodded for the umpteenth time that morning. “Perfect. So, we can start explaining to you what your job in the crew will be.” They sat in front of him, this time looking at him as an equal rather than as someone they had to keep an eye on.

“The person you will be guarding his not a public figure like the King or Prince Vegeta, but his protection is even more important than theirs.” Nappa started as an introduction for what would follow. “Prince Vegeta is not the only heir to the throne of Vegeta. He has a younger brother, Prince Tarble.”

“Prince Tarble? I've never heard of him.” Kakarot said, frowning.

“Yes. The King has made sure that no one outside the close circle around the Vegeta family knows about him. I don't really know how to put it but let's say that the King is not really proud of who his youngest offspring turned out to be. Hum... Tarble, he is not a fighter at all, and at birth his power level was one of the weakest ever recorded on Planet Vegeta." Kakarot felt the uncomfortable in Broly's voice as he kept explaining the situation around this mysterious young Prince no one knew about. "We still don't know how it happened but Tarble in fact ended up being a beta boy, as rare as it is.” Kakarot grasped. He knew perfectly well the taboo revolving around betas, especially male betas, and the strict policies put in place by the successive Kings around them. Tarble was probably suffering as much as Kakarot had been before coming to the Academy, but also had to deal with being rejected and hidden by his parents because of who he was. It made Kakarot sick. He had had the chance of his father being a brilliant scientist, able to create the suppressants he needed to hide his gender from the other soldiers there, but Tarble hadn't been this lucky.

“You thus understand, why it is important for you to stay as secretive as possible about your job at the palace.” Kakarot nodded, agreeing with General Nappa. “Of course, you will be well-paid for this job. The starting salary is 5000 royals a months.” Kakarot eyes went wide_. 5000 royals?!_ It was what his father made yearly!

“I see you are surprised by the salary. But there's a reason why it is so high. Hum... Tarble... he is a little bit complicated to say the least. And the King wants you to keep an eye over him and make sure he is okay at all times. Therefore, you will be provided a room next to his apartments so that you can intervene at any moment of day or night if something occurs”. Broly explained. “If anything were to happen to him, the King or Prince Vegeta would blast you right away.” Nappa said menacingly.

Kakarot thought about the discussion he had overheard earlier that day. The five dead guards. What had they done or what had happened to the young prince for them to be executed like this? Kakarot now understood silent around their assassinations. The King would have had to mention Tarble to justify their executions.

“Another delicate matter is that of Prince Tarble's heats...” Broly added, embarrassed. Again, the taboo around betas and their lack of representation in power places and in the army was felt. Heats were natural and shouldn't have to be mentioned in whispers behind close doors, as if they were shameful matters. Kakarot couldn't really talk about them though as he hadn't experienced them yet. This was rather weird for a beta his age and his mother had been very worried by it. 

_Gine had thought he was hiding them, because of the taboo around heats but also because of Kakarot's refusal to accept his gender. But when he still hadn't mentioned anything about heats at fourteen, she had started thinking it was important she talked to him about it. She knew how painful heats could be if the beta remained alone, and if Kakarot decided to act on them, she wanted him to be safe and know what he was going into. Therefore, she had tried to confront him about it. She had approached her son in the afternoon, finding him meditating close to their village's pond. She had brought some pastries in order to coax him into talking by making him happy and comfortable. _

_“Hey, Kaka. I made some _ilikias_, they are fresh out of the oven.” He open his eyes, and grinned when he saw the sweet treats in her hand. “Thanks mom! I love them!”_

_“I know ya do, honey.” She smiled sweetly. She let him eat a few before engaging in the feared conversation. She knew her son was very much unhappy about being a beta and any discussion she had had with him about anything beta-related had ended up into an argument. _

_“Say Kaka, how are yer heats going? You know there are some _ _mnuri_ _ leaves in the kitchen cabinets if ya're hurting too much.” Kakarot had frowned. She had expected the fury and the yelling but nothing came. Instead, Kakarot had just looked confused. “Hum... I have never gone into heat, mom.” _

_“What? Kakarot... I know ya hate to speak about it but heats are an important part of a beta's life. Ya can talk to me about it, even if just this once.” She took his hand into hers._

_ “Mom, I swear this is not me trying to change the topic. I really haven't gone into heat yet.” She looked at him. He wasn't lying. But what the hell? Beta usually started experiencing their first heat around the age of 11 or 12, that was why she had decided to talk to him one year before heats were supposed to start, so that he wouldn't panic once they came. “Ya sure?”_

_“Yes mom, I'm sure. I promise I'll mention it when it happens though.” _

_“Ya promise?” She had looked into his eyes. “I promise, mom."_

But even two years after, still nothing had happened, and nothing would happen while he was taking the pills his father had created, and Kakarot was glad about it.

“Usually, Tarble's guards ask not to be here when Tarble is in heat and a beta would come replace them for a few days. You will be able to ask for it as well if you feel that you cannot control yourself around an in heat beta. But please, do it as soon as possible, okay? It would avoid a whole lot of trouble for the organization team and for Tarble himself.”

“Ok...” Well, he sure wouldn't have to be replaced at these times, but he could still asked for another beta to come and take his place to get a few days of vacation or even to strengthen his cover. “So I just have to stay with him and make sure he is safe right?”

“Basically yes. But it's not always that easy with Tarble, you'll see.”

“I'm sure it'll be great. I'm very excited to start working for him!” Kakarot smiled. His jobs seemed relatively easy and he would get a nice pay out of it. But what Kakarot didn't know was all the drama that would appear with his new job. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 12/27/2019


	5. Chapter five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kakarot has afterthoughts.

**CHAPTER FIVE**

Kakarot regretted not asking more questions to Nappa and Broly as soon as dinner came and he had to talk to Raditz and his comrades. He didn't know what fictitious position in the royal guard they would assign him for his cover not to get blown. He also did not know if he should take his things with him or if he would be given a new uniform to match with the rest of the Palace's security staff. So he remained silent for the entirety of the meal, trying to first come up with a plausible excuse for both his older brother's teammates and for his own friends, explaining why he would go live at the Palace. Tired of not coming up with anything credible to justify his departure, he thought about telling Raditz the truth and letting him come up with something for his teammates. Raditz had always been the most intelligent of the two, calling Kakarot an idiot every chance he had and being annoyed at how stupid and clueless his sibling could be at times. When he was younger, Raditz often got frustrated trying to explain this or that to his absent-minded little brother, that was not very focused on anything but fighting-related matters.

_Yeah, his could be a good plan._ Raditz could find whatever excuse he pleased and he would just have repeat it to Leek and his other training partners. Now that he thought about it, he might not actually get to see them before quite a long time. Because he got out of training early, did not mean that his colleagues' was over. They would probably be training for another few months before being assigned commandos and teams within the different branches of the Saiyan Royal Army. But then, if he couldn't spar with Leek, who would he be able to train with at the Palace? Would he even be able to train at all? From what he had understood, his job was just babysitting a Royal offspring, and that couldn't entail much fighting, _could it?_

With these thoughts, all the excitation he had felt earlier about being chosen by commanders to join the security team, finally being acknowledged and taken into confidence about the youngest Prince's existence, was over. Sure it was great to be recognized for your strength and talent by some of the most decorated officers of the Saiyan fighting elite, but this path was not the one he had envisioned for his life. He had wished to join the extravegetrial forces like his brother, to explore the universe fighting proudly for his planet, not playing house with some royal brat. Not that he had anything against Prince Tarble; he hadn't even met him yet, but this really was not what the young warrior had envisioned for his life. And this probably also wasn't a position from which he could hope climbing the ladder to reach higher positions. No. The King would either be pleased with his work and keep him forever, or he would mess up and end up being killed by him or his ruthless older son.

Raditz looked suspiciously at his brother that seemed to be completely lost in thought, making faces as he reflected on whatever could go through this empty brain of his. He was barely eating, apparently dissatisfied by his reasoning and so disconnected that he hadn't notice everyone else leaving the cafeteria. After another five minuted had passed without him reacting, Raditz decided to put him out of his reflection by shaking his right hand in front of the shorter Saiyan's face trying to provoke a reaction out of him. Kakarot was startled and looked in Raditz ' direction. He long-haired alpha was watching him with his thick eyebrow raised in a questioning way.

“Sorry, I was just think 'bout something.” Kakarot muttered, looking around him to see that they were the only two people left in the mess hall. “Yeah, I could see that. Are ya gonna tell me 'bout it? Or do I have to beat it out of ya?”

“I dunno if I can tell ya...” Kakarot mumbled. He was quasi certain that one of the paper he had signed earlier mentioned something about a confidentiality clause. But this was his brother, and he knew he could trust him with his life, and he literally was by relying on him to cover his identity. “If I do, ya hafta promise me ya won't tell anyone.” Raditz chuckled and extended his pinky towards his little brother, in a gesture reminiscent of their childhood's promises. Kakarot took it hesitantly. “I guess I can tell ya...”

He took a deep breath before continuing in a lowered voice. “While I was in trainin' today, Nappa and Broly came to pick me up and offered me a job in the security staff.” Hearing what Kakarot had to say, Raditz' eyes were as big as saucers. “Seriously?! But that's great Kaka!”

“Yeah that's what I thought too. The problem is who I'll be working for...” He left his sentence on hold, hoping foolishly that his brother could guess it. He obviously couldn't.

“Who?!” Raditz asked, excited. He didn't get why his brother seemed so down about it. It was a great opportunity for him to infiltrate the Saiyan elite and thus hope getting to a high position in the future.

“Prince Tarble...” He said with an inaudible voice. “Sorry, who?” Rafitz asked confused about the name that came out of brother's mouth, Kakarot sighed, before repeating his previous answer. And as expected, Raditz had the same reaction as he had had early that day at hearing this unfamiliar name for the first time in his life, preceded by the second highest title in the Royal family.

“Uh? Who's that?” And so Kakarot went on to explaining the few nuggets of information Broly and Nappa had given him earlier about the mysterious royal, along with a few more practical details about where he would stay and what he would do at the Palace.

“That's madness! Who would have thought the Vegetas had such a secret, uh??!” The tall Saiyan asked, genuinely shocked by his brother's revelation. This was more than mere gossip like the ones that were circulating among the ranks and that the lonely soldiers were craving for. These were important matters, secrets that would have a tremendous impact if they ever got out in the open. 

“Yeah, crazy, right.” Kakarot stated, without much emotion in his tone. “I don't get why ya're are not excited about this, though? I mean, I get that it might be a bit dangerous for ya to live there 24/7 without being uncovered, but I'm sure ya'll manage. Ya've been doing great up till now, I don't see why it would change.”

“Tsnot about that Rad. Tsjust... I guess, it's not what I want in life. My thing is fightin', trainin', whatever... not lookin' up after someone that doesn't ever get out of his apartments. Not that it's his fault, just... I don't see a future in this.”

“Why did ya accept then?” Raditz asked, seeing how troubled his brother looked at that moment. “I hadn't really thought about that while I was there. I was just excited that Nappa and Broly chose me, _me_, not Leek, _not anyone else_, for something. They made me sign some paperwork most of which I couldn't even understand but I didn't wanna appear stupid to them and make them change their mind, ya know? And now it's too late, I already accepted, they already have told me about Tarble and... I guess I'm afraid they'd kill me if I decided to step out, or they would never promote to any position again in the future 'cause they'd think I'm a coward and that they can't trust me, ya know? So yeah, i'm kinda stuck.” He shrugged.

Raditz now understood what the problem was but didn't have any miraculous solution to his brother's tricky situation. He was certain that Kakarot changing his mind about it would only lead him to a fuck ton of troubles, and that was still an understatement. So he answered as any big brother would, trying not to preoccupy Kakarot too much: “Ya haven't even started workin' yet. Give it a shot. Ya cannot judge the job like that, Kak. Maybe ya'll like it, who knows? Ya told me the instructions around yer position were unclear. Perhaps, ya'll have lotsa time to train, with way stronger opponents than yer little friends at training ground. Don't forget that ya'll be working at the Palace with some of the strongest alphas in the universe.”.

Kakarot pouted; and thus Raditz knew he had convinced him. He always made this face when he was proven that Raditz – or anyone else but him for that matter – was right.

After their conversation they left for the the communal bathrooms and later for their dorm. If there was something Kakarot was really looking forward to was leaving the common areas to have his own space, where he hopefully would get some better sleep (as much as he could while taking his stomach-destroying medicine), away from Aru's obnoxious snoring, and where he could have more privacy. He hoped that would be the case and that he wouldn't have share a room with the young Prince.

°°°

After he finished packing, judging by the the loud noise they made, his roommates were sound asleep, so he could take his pill without being seen. He looked and the see-through vials: he only had a few left. It was time to send his father a _scoutage. _He felt guilty not having sent his parents anything or answered any of his mother's concerned texts since he got there. They didn't know anything about his life in Bejite'nai. He guess it couldn't hurt to call them actually. So, he cautiously got out of the dorm and and started walking down the corridors that he now knew like the back of his hand and through which he could effortlessly move around, even in the dark. He got out in a deserted courtyard and sat under a tree. He checked his village's time zone on his scouter, to make sure his parents would be home when he called, before launching the call. It ringed for a few seconds before someone picked up on the other side of the line.

“So ya're finally giving signs of life?” The hoarse voice of his father was even scarier from across the planet. His tone gave away immediately how mad he was at his younger son.

“Hi dad... I'm sorry I haven't called. I just was really busy ya know... with trainin' and stuff...” Bardock hmphed. “Yeah sure. Not busy enough not to post silly pictures of ya on this _Saiystaram_ thing._” How did he know? Did his father have a secret account to stalk him?_ He cringed. That certainly was embarrassing. He hoped he didn't see all the stuff he had posted on there...

“Be glad yer mother hasn't seen any of this shit and that I love her too much to hurt her and tell her that ya found the time in yer ô so hectic schedule to do this nonsense but not to answer any of her _scoutages_ asking ya how ya were and tellin' ya how much she misses ya!”

Now he felt pretty terrible with himself. He hadn't even looked at the content of his mother's texts, deleting them right after he had received them. Before leaving he promised himself he wouldn't let his parents interfere with his career that he knew they didn't approve of, but cutting them completely out was not a good solution either. “I'm very sorry, dad. I promise...” Bardock sighed. “Good. So, how are ya holdin' up? Isn't trainin' too hard?”

“Yeah, I'm fine, dad. Actually, I am out of trainin'... I just got promoted.” He said, without much emotion. He would give the job a chance like Raditz had advised him to do, but he was still convinced it wouldn't be the dream job he had hoped for coming here. Obviously, he wasn't going to tell his father that and risking hearing the dreaded by all 'I told you so.'.

“Oh, congrats I guess. What will ya be doin'?” _Crap_, he still hadn't found a good enough lie to sell to his friends. “Hum... I'll just work security for the Royal Family. I haven't started yet, so... yeah, I don't know what I'll do exactly, but I'm sure it'll be fine”.

“For the Royal..? Are ya insane?! That's so careless Kakarot, even for ya! Ya're walking into the lion's den!” Bardock shouted.

“I have been perfectly fine since I got here, thank ya. I don't see why this would change allova sudden because I got a promotion. I even think it'll actually be better for me. I'll get my own room and won't have to hide from Rad's nosy teammates anymore when I have to take that damn pill or when it makes me so sick that I can't even fucking sleep, dad!”. Now he was the one that was mad. He was so fucking tired of his dad's bullshit, always telling him what to do and what not to do, questioning every single one of his life choices. He knew now why he hadn't wanted to tell them anything about his new life in the Capital city.

“Just... do whatever ya want Kakarot. But I swear to liu'ana, if ya get into trouble, I won't be helpin' ya.” Kakarot snorted mentally. _As if he would be able to solve a situation that _he_ couldn't_. His father's strength was diminishing a little bit more every year that came to pass, and the young Saiyan knew he could easily beat him in battle at any time. He didn't tell him that either.

“Dad, woud'ya mind sendin' me more of the suppressants? I'm almost out. Ya can send them through Rad like we'd talked about...” Instead of his father's reply he heard the distant voice of his mother in the background asking who he was talking to. “Yeah, I'll do that tomorrow. I'm givin' the scouter to yer mother. Don't tell her about yer new job, and be nice.” A few seconds later he heard a much softer voice on the other side of the line.

“Kaka, baby, is that ya?” Her voice was very sweet and exuded happiness. “Yes mom, I'm sorry for not havin' called sooner, or answerin' yer scoutages.”

“It's fine, honey, I know ya've been busy.” He could hear the sadness in her voice despite the fact that she was trying to hide it. She was now left alone at home, her two sons gone and her husband working crazy hours in his lab. She was probably feeling very lonely. “So, did ya make friends? Is the food any good? Do people treat ya well? Did ya see the King in real life? Is Prince Vegeta as gorgeous in real life as on TV?” She just kept asking questions and Kakarot didn't really know if she was expecting any answers. So he kept his reply very simple.

“I'm fine, mom. Everything's great.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this is short and just a filler chapter. The next one will be Kakarot's meeting with Tarble, and should hopefully be longer.  
I hope you still enjoyed it! See you next time!
> 
> 02/11/2020


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